Blue Mountain visitors can gather mushrooms soon

Visitors to Forest Service land in the Blue Mountains should soon be able to gather mushrooms.No permit is needed to harvest less than one gallon of mushrooms in Oregon or less than five gallons in Washington. The mushrooms must be for personal consumption and cannot be sold, traded or given away, according to Forest Service regulations.In the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests, mushroom pickers are required to display a recreation pass in the windshield of their vehicle when using a designated fee trailhead. Passes cost $5 a day or $30 for an annual pass. They can be purchased at Forest Service Offices or online at www.discovernw.org.A commercial mushroom permit is required for anyone 18 or older to pick mushrooms to sell or for anyone who wants to gather more than the limit for personal consumption. Permits for commercial harvesting cost $2 a day or $100 per season. They must be purchased at ranger district offices.An industrial camping permit, available at ranger district offices, is required if commercial mushroom harvesters and buyers camp overnight on National Forest land and they are not allowed to camp in developed campgrounds.No commercial picking is allowed in wilderness areas.Starting this season, commercial pickers are required to keep a record of the date, time and quantity of mushrooms removed from National Forest land.Interest in harvesting mushrooms on National Forest land is increasing, but pickers need to be sure they have not picked poisonous varieties, according to the National Forest Service. It recommends using a guide book or checking with a county extension office.The 2014 mushroom guide, which includes addresses for district offices, is published at http://1.usa.gov/1l3FhEu. For more information, call 541-278-3716.